We've got a problem with benefit fraud in this country. And it's a problem I'm determined to fix.
Last year, £1.5billion of your money was stolen by benefit fraudsters.
I say "stolen" because that's what we're talking about - wrongly taking money from other people, in this case hard-working taxpayers.
It's really important that we're clear who we are talking about.
Sometimes people confuse zero tolerance on benefit fraud with zero tolerance for people on benefits. That's wrong.
I'm proud that Britain is a society that looks after people who are genuinely in need.
That's what the welfare system was designed for. And that's what it will always do.
But there are people out there who try to exploit that goodwill - who think they can get away with claiming things they are just not entitled to.
When you work hard and still sometimes have to go without the things you want because times are tough, it's maddening to know there are some people who could work but just don't want to. You know the people I mean.
You walk down the road on your way to work and you see the curtains drawn in their house. You know they could work, but they choose not to.
And just as maddening is the fact that they seem to get away with it.
Only £20million of benefit fraud-related debts are recovered each year. And three in four of those who get caught don't get prosecuted.
That's just not right.
Well, we're not going to shrug our shoulders and let these people get away with it any longer.
First, we're going to use all the traditional methods at our disposal.
We're looking at every option - including tougher penalties for fraud, taking more people to court and more encouragement for people who know fraud is taking place to come forward.
But second, I also want modern technology focused on stopping these people.
That means more debt retrieval, more information sharing and more use of things such as credit referencing agencies to identify cases where circumstances just don't match the claim being made.
There are, quite rightly, rules about data protection, but that doesn't mean putting up with fraud.
Banks and utility companies use available data to check whether people are being honest about their circumstances.
Government should do the same. We owe it to you as taxpayers to make more use of this technology to protect your hard-earned money from fraudsters.
Some people might say £1.5billion lost on benefit fraud isn't that much.
But it's the cost of more than 55 secondary schools or 44,000 nurses.
I say that to lose that kind of money is just not acceptable. Especially at a time like this.
Everyone knows the cuts we need to make will be difficult.
We've got to take some hard decisions in the coming weeks as we bring down the deficit and live within our means again. But cutting benefit fraud is a no-brainer.
That's why benefit fraud is the first and the deepest cut we will make.